Oregon is relaxing rules on pumping your own gas, because of the COVID-19 emergency.
The State Fire Marshal issued new guidelines Saturday allowing gas stations throughout the state to allow drivers to pump their own gas. In some cases, if the station doesn't have the ability to staff the facility, there might be no one on site.
The rules are being rolled out this weekend and might take time to get to all of the stations.
They don't have to offer self serve. It's an option.
Here are the official details from the Oregon Fire Marshal:
In response to the impacts of COVID-19 on Oregon, the Office of State Fire Marshal is suspending regulations over self-service stations and implementing measures to ensure the health and safety of gas retailers.
“During this unprecedented time of state emergency, we need to ensure that critical supply lines for fuels and other basic services remain uninterrupted,” said State Fire Marshal Jim Walker.
A. Effective immediately today, until April 11 (two weeks from effective date), retail facilities of Class 1 flammable liquid transportation fuels prohibited from offering self-service refueling shall:
Prepare, implement and enforce social distancing policies consistent with guidance from the Oregon Health Authority,
Require an attendant to be on duty to supervise self-service refueling consistent with the social distancing policies and help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through sanitization measures, and
Designate an employee at each station to implement and enforce the social distancing policies.
B. For retail facilities of Class 1 flammable liquid transportation fuels compliant with paragraph A, the State Fire Marshal’s office shall not enforce the self-service prohibition under ORS 480.310 through ORS 480.385.
C. Notwithstanding (A2), a station owner may only offer self-service without an attendant if:
The owner retains documentation that there are no employees available to work as an attendant, including documentation for absences and employee hiring and retention efforts;
The owner is subject to State Fire Marshal audit and has posted safety signs for how to safely operate a fuel pump; and
The hours of operation under this subsection do not exceed 10 consecutive hours.
Station owners who need help finding employees to cover shifts should contact Miriam Nolte (Miriam.l.nolte@oregon.gov; 503-612-4252) for help finding workers.
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